Shutter Speed and Aperture display different in Viewfinder than on Control Panel
 

Hello everyone. This is my first post here and I'm a new member. I apologize for the noob question, but I'm relatively new to the SLR world.

I own a D200 with the 18-200 lens.

I recently noticed that when shooting at 18mm, the shutter speed and aperture readings in the viewfinder and the control panel were exactly the same. However, when I start zooming, I noticed the display values in the viewfinder change accordingly to the zoom level, but the values in the control panel stay the same as when the lens was at 18mm. Is this normal behavior? Why would the values display differently on the control panel than in the viewfinder?
Once again, I apologize for the noob question.

Hi tsalonia,

Welcome to the forum.

I have no idea so maybe not such a noob question after all.

I would expect values to change on a lens that was not constant aperture as you zoomed. But in this case I think we will have to wait for a D200 owner to answer the question.

Don

Maybe the control panel displays the requested aperture, while the viewfinder displays the actual aperture. Let's say you have an f/4 to f/5.6 lens: You dial in f/4 at 18mm but then zoom in to 150mm, where the lens can only go to f/5.6. So the viewfinder displays the actual f/5.6 the lens is delivering, while the control panel still displays the f/4 you have requested (and which you will get as soon as you zoom out again or swap to a faster lens).

If so, then it seems a sensible way to arrange things. My Canon does it the other way (i.e., in the example above, both displays will read f/5.6), which sometimes leaves me unsure what requested aperture I have set. I wouldn't mind it the other way around either. Not sue that it matters much.

Tannin, I shoot with Canon also, and the view finder and top plate should show the nearest maximum aperture available to the one you dialed in, even if the AV is set to a wider aperture...


tsalonia, not being a Nikon man I'm afraid I can't answer your question..

i have a d200 usually have a 300mm on but never notice that before , will have a try and let you know

I've seen others reporting this problem on other fora. You are not alone, it is a "feature" of the camera, not a fault, they all do it apparently. I don't know why, but I thought it may be useful to add that it's not just your example.

Duncan